Sermon - 2020 - 05 - 10

As Jesus is talking to the disciples, he tells them, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  When I heard this, I immediately thought of the moments when I stop myself because I will say something that sounds like something my dad would say.  Now I am not saying that’s a bad thing but I am reminded of the old saying that, “an apple does not fall too far from the tree”.  Then I started to remember all the times that I would see people who knew my dad when he was growing up and they would say, “wow, you look just like your dad.”  Many of us probably have similar stories to share.  Sometimes when a person tells us that, we are proud of that.  Other times, we hear that and it causes us to fear.  “I am not THAT old am I?”  

Our parents are ones who shape us and guide us in this world.  They are the first ones who show us love, care, and compassion.  They are the ones who share with us stories of growing up, the one that every parent seems to say is, “When I was growing up, I had to walk 5 miles to school every single day and it was uphill both ways.”  Other stories that are shared are the incredible difficulties that they have overcome and they share those with us that we may learn from their experience.  That we may not have to endure the pain and suffering but rather learn so as NOT to repeat that mistake or hardship.

  

Each and every one of us is living in a pandemic.  A time in which we are learning and experiencing our own hardships.  For many of us, we are struggling with fear, doubt, wonder, and at the same time trying to keep the faith, hope, and love that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.  We are trying to live on the path of faith and trust in God but this life seems to have changed how it is we have done that in the past.  A few weeks ago, I said that this experience has changed us and that we can learn from it.  We are now experiencing the life of someone else during this time.  What it feels like to be homebound.  Not able to go out, not having people visit, only getting a phone call every so often.  We are getting to know what it is like to have a loss, the loss of family, friends, relationships, and even our own life.  We also have time to reflect on what this means and how it is we can change our own behavior, our own view of how it is we are viewing our life.  

Someone commented to me the other day when I was calling some people from the church that they really have appreciated the phone tree that the council is doing because people are able to talk.  Normally on a Sunday morning, we see each other, we sing songs and we leave but now we have time and the ability to talk.  To know who each other are and what’s going on.  The other day when I was out for a walk, I saw some of my neighbors and greeted them.  For some reason, I was reminded of my own parents' talk about how people would walk around their neighborhood and actually get to know their neighbors.  What a concept right?  Before all of this many of us would go to work and then retreat into our homes to rest only to then repeat it the next day.  

How will our lives be changed for the better because of this experience?  

Earlier I walked about us struggling with living our path of faith and trusting in God.  It is a common fear that people are having right now.  One that many of us are trying to figure out.  For we can not go backward to the way things used to be but we can hear the words that Jesus does share with his disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  This is what we are truly longing for.  A way of living that would give us fulfillment, happiness, and draw us closer to God.  A truth that will surpass all understanding, something that can lead us even during the hard times.  A life that is everlasting and can never be taken away from us.  These fears and hopes that Jesus delivers to his disciples are exactly what we need to hear and experience in this time of Easter, in this time of new birth and new life for each and every one of us.  

This is precisely why we gather each and every week, to love, care and support one another but above all point each other to Jesus Christ, our savior, and lord, now and forever. Amen.